With Love, 28
by pandagirl2320
Summary: Texas has always been... free spitied. No matter what life has thrown at her, she has always found a way to defy anything that she doesn't like. This is a story about the life of a young personification trying to survive a cruel world, while balancing family, beliefs, and a little bit of love. Rated T to be safe.
1. Karankawa

**A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading!~**

 **This is an idea I have had for a while, and I am really excited about it. Please R &R ('cuz this is the first fanfiction I have ever put online). **

**So the basic story is just following the life of Texas, and all of the struggles that come with being a personification in the new world. The first chapter is an intro to young Texas, or Kushala as her siblings call her. I will introduce more familiar faces later on.**

 **I do not own any Hetalia characters. Texas and all of the tribes, however, are mine.**

* * *

" _Kushala! Don't stray too far from the camp!"_ A male voice rang out in the otherwise quiet landscape. He was only answered by the laughter of a young child, and the excited "yip" of a small coyote running alongside her.

Kushala's bare feet excitedly pushed the sand away from her body as she propelled herself towards the ocean before her, causing her short, red hair to fly behind her tan body. The coyote struggled to keep up with her frantic footfalls, and quickly fell behind. Noticing her companion lagging, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

" _Look Taw! It's the ocean!"_ she squealed happily, bright blue eyes shining. She picked up her companion, _Taw_ , and spun him around. She then began running again, past the grasses growing on the sand dunes, and she smiled brightly as her feet touched unencumbered sand.

When she set foot on the cold, moist sand, she cried out in surprise and lept back. Taw whined and licked her hand in comfort. She placed him down on the sand, and gently crept forward. She came back up to the wet sand, and poked it wearily with her toe.

" _This is my first time seeing the ocean…"_ she murmured more to herself than anything else. Her eyes widened as a huge wave came crashing onto the shore, water rushing towards her. With a gasp of surprise, she scrambled back.

She watched in wonder as the water retreated just as quickly as it had come, and was soon replaced by another wave.

" _It is quite an interesting sight isn't it?"_ a female voice asked from behind her. Kushala turned her head and cried out in joy. She lept to her feet, and ran into the waiting arms of the woman.

" _Karankawa!"_ she smiled into the woman's shoulder as they embraced.

" _Hello little one! It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"_ Karankawa smiled back warmly, brushing some stray hairs from Kushala's face.

The little girl nodded, " _About twenty years. I think…_ " Her face screwed up in concentration as she tried to recall how long it had been. Karankawa laughed as the coyote pup lept up onto the child and began whining for attention.

" _Who is this?"_ the adult laughed. Kushala smiled brightly and held the pup closer to her. " _Brother gave it to me! I named him Taw._ " she said proudly.

Karankawa frowned slightly at this information. " _Do you mean Wichita? He gave you a coyote?"_ she asked in mild concern. Wichita was not always known to be the most… child-friendly tribe. Especially not when it concerned young personifications.

She moved to take the pup from the child, but stopped when Kushala moved out of her reach. " _Big brother already checked. You don't need to worry."_ she said, motioning with little enthusiasm towards the camp she had just been at, where a thin plume of smoke was already beginning to wander into the sky.

Karankawa relaxed a little. Leave it to Comanche to be the ever-responsible big brother to the odd young child. She held out her hand and cringed inwardly as the child placed her pale, almost white, hand into her larger, tan ones. The tribes had agreed it was best not to let their people get long looks at her, because of how much she resembled a corpse. It took about a year for them to realize that she was not sick, but was simply pale.

She squeezed her hands, and pushed the troubling thoughts away from her. " _Would you like to go swimming?"_ she asked the girl slyly. Kushala's eyes lit up, and Karankawa scooped up the child (who was still holding her coyote) and walked knee-deep into the ocean.

" _Wait! What are you doi-!"_

Karankawa laughed as she dropped the girl into the water, and doubled over when the coyote pup began to frantically climb on top of her to get out of the water, forcing the girl back under.

When they had both calmed down, Kushala sent a pointed glare at the older tribe, who smiled back mischievously at her.

With a cry of determination, the child used her arm that wasn't holding up her companion, and ran into the unsuspecting woman, pushing her into the salty water. She yelped in surprise as she felt the world continue to move as she too went back into the water.

Deciding he had had enough, _Taw_ wiggled out of her arms and paddled his way over to the shore. He sat and watched in amusement as the two females splashed each other and ran about like nothing mattered.

 _Taw_ 's ears perked up as he heard someone walking on the sand towards them. He turned to see a tall young man, with his long black hair pulled back into a single, long braid. A hawk feather hung loosely from his hair, as the wind caused both to sway in the breeze.

He smiled at his sisters, and put a hand up to call to them. " _I don't need her getting ill, Eshe! Our food is ready, so let's come back to camp!"_ Karankawa, or _Eshe_ , nodded to let him know she had heard him, and she scooped up the child, walking to shore.

Kushala whined in protest, but brightened when she saw the man on the sand. " _Brother, look! The ocean is sooooo big!~"_ He smiled and nodded. " _Yes, it is hard to miss."_ He said simply, taking the soaking girl from _Eshe_.

The older tribes went back to the camp, where Kushala promptly ate her food and went into her shared tent with her brother to sleep. That night, the young girl dreamt of her home in the plains, where pronghorns and bison were so plentiful that they covered the entire prairie. _Taw_ , on the other hand, dreamt of chasing a rabbit.

* * *

 **Tribes mentioned:**

 **-Karankawa, or Eshe (female): a small tribe that was located on the coast of Texas**

 **-Wichita (male): a tribe located in the north, near present-day Oklahoma**

 **-Comanche (male): I never call him by name in this chapter, but he is 'big brother'. Located in the center and panhandle of Texas**


	2. Eshe

**A/N:**

 **Hi! I'm back! Sorry it took so long for me to do anything, but school got really crazy for a while. The good news is that the 'crazy-school-time' should be over now, so my posting should be more frequent!~ ^^**

 **Eshe = Karankawa**

 **Taak = Comanche**

 **Kushala = little Texas**

 **Taw = Coyote pup**

 **I don't own any hetalia characters, but Texas and her siblings are mine!**

* * *

The birds were chirping so loudly that Kushala had no choice but to wake up. Especially when her brother opened up the tent, letting in the cold morning air as well as the sunlight. She groaned as he pulled the fur blankets off of her, and she blindly tried to grab at them.

He chuckled and bent down to her. " _Sister, it is time to wake up."_ He gently prodded her shoulder. " _Eshe wanted to show you around her home, but because you are not getting up, I'll just go tell her-"_ he didn't even finish his sentence before she jumped out of bed and out the tent. Taw jolted awake at the sudden noise of her running out, and Comanche laughed as he picked up the sleepy pup.

When he came outside, he saw Eshe and Kushala talking animatedly as they served eachother breakfast. He smiled, and sat with them by the fire.

* * *

" _...And that is where the ocean spirits live to this day."_ Eshe concluded some minutes later as everyone finished with their food. Comanche looked at his younger sister, who was looking at the bushes that the ocean was behind.

Suddenly, she turned back to them and asked " _When can I meet the spirits?"_

Eshe, looked at Comanche for a moment before looking at the small girl. " _Kushala, I don't think that Taabe wants you to-"_

" _You can take her to see some of the ocean spirits if you want, but Kushala, I want you to stay with Eshe no matter what."_ He interrupted, looking seriously at the young child.

She nodded, and went over to Eshe, pulling on her hand impatiently. Laughing, the woman stood and walked with the girl out of the camp. Before they were out of sight, Eshe turned to look back.

" _Are you coming as well?"_

Taabe shook his head. " _I do not want to anger the spirits by intruding on them. THey are your people's, so you should be the one to introduce her to them"_ Eshe nodded her head and led Kushala out of the camp, who was waving goodbye to her brother.

When he waved back, Kushala turned and followed her older sister. They walked for a few minutes in silence as the ocean crashed along the shore. Finally, they arrived at a large canoe lying on the shore.

" _Is this yours?"_ Kushala asked in wonder, leaning in to see the small, intricate carvings on the side of it. Eshe smiled and nodded her head. " _Yes, I made this with my older sister many decades ago."_

Kushala looked up at her, and turned her head to the side in confusion. " _You had a big sister? But I thought that you were the only girl…"_

Eshe sighed as she motioned for her to get into the canoe. SHe pushed it into the ocean and lept into the back as it slid across the waves.

They sat in silence as the older of the two paddled across the waves towards a sand bar. " _Sister, if I said anything to-"_

" _No. You did nothing wrong."_ Eshe sighed as Kushala looked back at her. " _I was just lost in my memories."_ and she left it at that.

After a few minutes, the two came to a large sand-barrier island, and Eshe secured the boat while Kushala looked around. There was nothing there but a few tufts of grass that grew in the center of the narrow island.

The young girl frowned. There was nothing here.

She began to get a strange feeling inside of her, something that she had never felt before. It was very uncomfortable, like something was gnawing at her insides and making her jumpy.

She let out a small yelp when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up only to see Eshe. " _Little one? What is…"_ Eshe stopped talking as she noticed the complete absence of life where they were standing.

She began walking about the sand island, looking everywhere for any spirits, but none gave a hint that they were ever even there. " _Isn't it possible to summon them?..."_ Kushala asked tentatively, looking up at her sister.

" _Normally we could, but we cannot call for them when we are in their home."_ She said with a hint of frustration in her otherwise concerned voice. " _It is not you… They have heard of you, and would know what to expect…"_

Eshe sat in the sand and sighed. Kushala followed suit and looked at the older tribe in confusion. " _We can come another time. I don't want to make you angr-"_

Before Kushala could finish her sentence, there was a loud 'pop', and a bright green light. When the girl blinked the spots out of her eyes, she saw a green rabbit, that was somewhat see through.

 _A spirit!_ She thought with wonder as the creature looked at the two women carefully, before it bounded over to Eshe.

" _My lady,"_ it began in a soft voice that seemed to echo around Kushala's head, " _I bring urgent news from the sea!"_

Eshe nodded for it to continue, and hopped up into the air so that it was standing at about the same level as her face. " _There is a strange tribe approaching from the East! It brings with it strange clouds and some of the ocean spirits say that it has the power of thunder! I implore you to be on your guard when dealing with them."_

Eshe looked at Kushala with an unreadable expression, and turned back to the spirit. " _Thank you. Do you know when they will arrive?"_

Just then, Kushala saw something break over the flat surface of the ocean. " _Eshe, look!"_ she gasped, pointing at the obstruction on the horizon.

The woman and spirit turned to look, and the spirit promptly vanished as she jumped up. " _We are going back. We need to talk to your brother."_ She said tensely as she grabbed Kushala's hand and pulled her back to the boat.

* * *

" _Slow down! You know I don't speak you language that well!"_ Kushala heard her brother say outside of the tent that she had been told to stay in.

" _I am nervous! Look at the ocean! This new tribe has almost made landfall!"_ Eshe yelled, making the little girl inside the tent flich. Taw licked her hand in comfort, and Kushala wasted no time in scooping him into a hug.

" _We do not know their intentions,"_ Comanche said calmly, " _what we need to do is talk to them and see if they are friendly or not."_ Kushala frowned at his words, which were meant to be calming, but she heard the slight tremor in them.

Taak had never shown any fear before. Kushala had been there to bid him farewell before he left to fight in countless wars and hunting expeditions, never batting an eye. SOmething about this new tribe has him worried, though. Very worried. Eshe had never snapped at anyone that Kushala knew of either, so they were both very stressed.

Kushala had been told to go inside as soon as the two made it back to camp. She had been sitting on her sleeping mat for what felt like hours, listening to the older tribes argue not-so-quietly.

Suddenly, both of the adults outside stopped talking. Kushala held her breath, waiting for someone to make a sound.

" _I shall go and greet them."_ She heard Eshe say after a few moments.

" _I'll go with you-"_

" _No. You need to stay here with Kushala. I can take care of myself, but she needs you."_

Kushala felt her face heat up in anger. She could too take care of herself… sorta. She huffed and laid down on her mat, allowing Taw to wiggle out of her grasp.

Taak sighed, and Kushala could hear him mumble something in his language as he stepped into the tent. The young girl looked up, and he placed a smile on his face.

" _Don't worry. How about I tell you about some of my legends while we wait for Eshe to return?"_ Kushala huffed, but nodded her head as she came to sit by the older tribe. He smiled as she looked to him in interest, despite the fact that he knew she could recite all of his stories by heart now. He cleared his throat, and dove into the story of how his people were created, hoping that Eshe would be back soon.


End file.
